Body-bolster side bearing



lJ. F. OCONNOR.

BODY BOLSTE-R SIDE BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, 1919.

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JOHN F. OGONNOR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOISLASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM H. MINER, OF CHAZY, NEW YORK.

BODY-:HOLSTER SIDE BEARING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

Application :filed September 5, 1919. Serial No. 321,754.

I ult Iwhom 't may concern Be .it yknown that I, JOHN F. OCoNNoR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Body-Bolster Side Bearings, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvement-s in body bolster side bearings.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and relatively inexpensive, gravity controlled, self-centering side bearing especially adapted for attachment to body holsters of railway cars.

ln the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a verticalsectional view taken through the body and truck bol sters of a car and showing my improvements in connection therewith. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the side bearing proper, parts being broken away to accommodate the ligure on the sheet. And Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line of Fig. 1.

ln said drawing denotes the upper portion of a truck bolster and 11 the under side of a body bolster of a railway car arranged in the relation normally obtaining on a car. l have shown my improved side bearing as attached to the un'der side of the body bolster 11, and. as shown the same i comiiirises, broadly, a housing or retaining casting A, an anti-friction element B, a

block C. a retaining wear plate D, and a pair of disks E-E The retaining member A, as shown, is of substantially box form and has depending end walls 1212, elongated depending side walls 13-13, and perforated corner lugs or ears 14*14 by which it is adapted to be riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to the bolster.

The side walls 13 are provided on the inner faces thereof with recesses of special form. Each of these recesses at its lower end is curved so as to form an inwardly eX- tending flange as indicated at 15 in Fig. 1. Said flanges 15 form the supports or ledges for the disks E, hereinafter described. Approximately the upper one-half of each of said recesses is formed with a slight flare as indicated at 16 and at the top portion with straight side edges indicated at 17. These portions of the said recesses form guiding and centering means for the antifriction element B, as hereinafter described.

Said anti-friction element B is in the form of a combined roller and rocker and has an enlarged lower end provided with a rounded bearing surface indicated at 18 which is adapted to engage the truck bolster or any suitable wear plate thereon. At its upper end, the element B is provided with another rounded bearing surface indicated at 19, said surfaces 19 and 18 being made concentric although preferably of different radii. Said bearing surface 19 is normally spaced a slight distance below the under surface of the plate D. The latter may be made of case hardened steel or other suitable wear resisting metal and is preferably inserted through slots 20 in the end walls of the retaining member A. Said plate D supports the block C as clearly indicated in Figs. 1 and 3 and in order to prevent accidental removal of the plate D, said block C is notched on its end edges as indicated at 21-21 to accommodate cotters 22 which are inserted in the plate D. This arrange ment is most clearly shown in Fig. 2 upon which it will be evident that the plate D cannot be moved horizontally accidentally.

The anti-friction element B on each side thereof at the top, is provided with lugs 28-23, the same being laterally extended and working within` the recesses formed on the inner faces of the side walls 13 of the member A. Said lugs 23 are of special form and each has a rounded lower end or fulcrum point as indicated at 24 in Fig. 1. From the rounded end, the edges extend upwardly at an incline as indicated at 25-25 on each side thereof until the dimension crosswise of the lug approximates closely the distance between the edges 16-16, deining the recesses. Above this point, the edges of the lugs 23 are rounded and converge slightly as indicated at 26-26- Across the top, the edges of the lugs 23 are also rounded on a long radius as indicated at 27. It will be noted that said upper edges 27 are spaced from the under side of the bolster a distance slightly greater than the distance between the bearing surface 19 and the plate D.

Each of the disks E is of oval form in tion element edge 28 and an upper rounded edge 29.' The radius of the lower rounded .edge 28 is made less than the radius of the supporting ledge or flange 15 so that the disks E are free to rock back and forth on the supporting ledges 15. The rounded ends or fnlcrum points 24 of the lugs 23 are normally supported by the disks E as indicated by the full lines in Fig. 1.

The operation is as follows: Assuming the parts in a normal position as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, when the two bolsteis approach each other and relative movement therebetween occurs radially, the anti-fric- B will of ycourse be swung to one side or the other. ln the first instance saidV element B will be elevated so as to remove the weight thereof from the disks E and transfer the pressure from the bearing surface 19 to the plate D. A s the element l swings or rollson the bearing surface 19, as for instance to the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the lugs 23 will move within their corresponding guiees to the position indicated by the dottedA lines inA Fig. 1. rthe configuration of the lugs 23 isV suoli that the distance at any time between the edgesof said lugs and adiacent portions of the guideway will remain substantially constant. A limit to thev rolling movement, of the element B will obtain when the latter engages the lower edge of the corresponding end wall 12 as indicated in Fig. 1 and. this will occur, preferably, when the corresponding plain edges 25 of the lugs 23 lie against the guide flanges 16.

Assuming that the pressure from the antifrictionl element is then removed, the latter' will of course first be pulled down until the weight thereof is transmitted from the lugs 23 to the disks E. Fulcrumj points are thus formedbetween the lugs 23 and the disks ll and the element B will swing downwardly about these fulcrurn points to a vertical position due to the eccentric weight of the ele-` mentl B. As this swinging movement takes place the disks Ewill be rocked or rolled to-V ward the left, as viewed in Fig. 1 and will. remain in such Adisplaced condition so long asvthe-weight of the anti-friction element B issustained thereby. During this oscillating movement, itl evident that the lugs 23 and guideways therefor' will. insure the return of the anti-friction element to its cen-. tral` position because ofthe special formation of the lugs as hereinbefore described.

When the anti-friction element VB is nextv brought into playit will be first elevated, which will remove the weight thereof from the disks E and thereby permit the latter to roll back to their normal central position and in readiness for effecting the return of the anti-friction element after the completion of the next actuation.

l claim:

1. ln a side bearing, the combination with a supporting member adapted for attachment to a body bolster and having depending side walls and an upper bearing surface, of an anti-friction element adapted for rolling movements, and means for sustaining` said element thereon, said sustaining means including disks mounted on the supporting member and adapted to roll thereon, and fulcrum projections extending from saideleinent and adapted to be supported on said disks during the return move-- ment of said element.

2. ln a side bearing, a supporting member adapted for attach ment to a body ing-side walls and an upper bearing surface, of an anti-friction element adapted for rollingmovements, and means for sustaining said element thereon, said sustaining means including,

member and adapted to roll for a limited distance with respect thereto, guideways formed on said side walls, and laterally eX- tending lugs from said 'element disposed within said guideways and normally supporting said element from said disks.

ln a side bearing adapted for applica-y tion to a Car body bolster, the combination with a housing adapted to'be secured tothe under side of said body bolster, said housing having depending side walls and an upper bearing surface, said side walls beingprovided with guideways onthe inner faces thereof and having also lower curved supporting flanges, of ovaliform disks rockably supported on said flanges, and an anti-fricand-lower beartion element having upper ing surfaces and provided with laterally extended lugs disposed within said guideways, said lugs having rounded lower ends arranged te act as fulcruins to support said element from said disks.

ln witness that l claim the foregoing l have hereunto subscribed my name this 20th day of Aug., 1919.

JOHN F. @CONNOR he combination with v bolster and having depend -4 oppositely arranged disksA mounted in the side walls of said retaining' 

